We left Crescent City before 8 am on Thursday and estimated that we would make an average of 6 knots all the way to San Francisco Bay. The forecast was for no wind for the first 24 hours then increasing to 15 knots with 4’ seas for the second 24 hours. Nope. The forecast for the 1st 24 hours was spot on but once we got south of Point Arena the wind and seas attacked! In a matter of 20 minutes the wind jumped from 0 to 30 knots. We were making 7.6 knots (speed over ground) and needed to slow down. At this speed we would have made it to the Golden Gate Bridge 5 hours before slack tide when we needed to get in. We decided to bring the sail down and motor at 1200 RPM which gave us a speed over ground of just 4.9 knots. This would bring us to the bay just about 15 minutes after slack, just as it was turning to flood. Perfect.

Those winds sure did kick the seas up though. We had combined seas of up to 7’, mostly on the beam. This made for a very rolly passage.
Every sailor dreams of the day that they sail their little ship under the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. When we came in it was shrouded in fog. Typical.

Sausalito is very close to the bridge and we needed rest so we turned in and dropped the anchor. It’s a very convenient spot but not very comfortable. The current is strong so the wind doesn’t keep your bow into the wind. This means that the wind waves hit you and the beam for much of the day (and night) Needless to say, it’s rolly here. We plan to move in the morning.

Sausalito is a great place to stroll around and people watch. It’s very busy with tourists. There are upscale shops and lots of great places to eat.

We were invited over to another boat who is also heading down the coast to Mexico. He spends his day fishing. He’s anchored right next to us and as I write this he’s unhooking a Leopard shark from his line. He caught a ray while we were over there yesterday.

The sun has been out both days that we’ve been here. YAY!